Specializing in Furniture Restoration
Restoring the charm of antiques, heirlooms, everyday furniture and personal treasures.

Restoration of Fine Furniture

Over 35 years experience restoring furniture.

About us

Gordon Mitchell-Restorer Raised in West Newbury, Massachusetts, I graduated from Pentucket High School in 1989. Those beginning woodworking classes gave me a start into what has become a great passion. At 16, I worked as an apprentice to a furniture restorer and following graduation I worked for a restoration business for many years and attended numerous restoration and finishing seminars. I now have my own furniture restoration business in Southern New Hampshire offering over 35 years of experience in furniture restoration and finishing. Located in Southern New Hampshire, I offer free pick-up and delivery to most locations in NH, MA, and Maine. Visits to my shop are by appointment only. I work on everyday furniture to treasured antiques. I specialize in antique furniture restoration and saving original finishes. My list of services are many and I welcome a challenge. My clients include decorators, interior designers, antique dealers, auctioneers, historical societies, museums, and the general public. Most of my business is word of mouth and repeat customers. Many clients will refer people to me because they know the work that I do and they know it will be done right. I take photos throughout the process and give every client a copy of the photos when their piece is complete. The photos tell the story of the time, expertise, and care that goes into each piece. I encourage you to view my gallery. I have had the privilege of working on many fine pieces and family heirlooms and it is a joy for me to share these photos. I look forward to the opportunity to serve you. Please call me or email me.

Expert Furniture Restoration Services

I work on all different kinds of furniture. Not all of the projects that I do are complete restorations. Some just want a chair re-glued, or a piece of veneer repaired on a drawer, or a molding made. It does not matter how big or small the project is, I am interested in working on your piece. I specialize in antique furniture restoration but if your kitchen chair needs to be re-glued, I will do that; or, if your mid-century table needs the finish repaired, I'll do that. I work with many other materials and repair things other than wood; I like a challenge. I take great pride in what I do. The project does not leave the shop until I am pleased. My name and reputation rests on each piece. I have many repeat customers, and references available. One client that refers me to many people, said to me, "It is so nice to have a restorer, that can be trusted, that will do a great job, and the client will be pleased with the work." List of Services Provided but not Limited to: RE-GLUING When I re-glue a chair or other piece of furniture, I take it totally apart and re-glue it. It is the only way to ensure tightening the whole piece. Spreading the joint and slipping some glue in will only last a few weeks. It is not good enough. The joints must be taken apart, the joints cleaned, and then re-glued. VENEER REPAIR I do re-gluing of loose veneer, patching of missing veneer, as well as re-veneering of whole pieces. FABRICATION OF MISSING PARTS If you have a piece that is missing a piece, such as a rosette, spindle, back splash, fret work, I can recreate it. Sometimes it is necessary for me to do research to determine what was there. INLAY & MARQUETRY WORK I can make missing pieces of inlay and marquetry. If the inlay and marquetry is loose, I can re-glue it. CARVING & TURNING If carving needs to be done to replace a missing piece, I can do that. I also do turning of missing pieces. SAVING OLD FINISHES I do strip and refinish furniture but I prefer to save the old finish when possible. Old finishes can become dark and unattractive, but there are ways to remove the many years of furniture polish, dirt and grime. It is a case of cleaning the surface, doing any touch-up work that needs to be done, and then putting more finish on top of the original. If it is an antique, sometimes the client wants the dry old finish look, some want the finish to be smooth to see the beauty of the wood but still see the age and patina of the original finish. REFINISHING When a finish has lost its adhesive to the surface, then the piece needs to be refinished. Another reason to refinish a piece is when a client wants the look of a piece to be different; be it lighter or completely changed, and other ways are not effective. KINDS OF FINISHES THAT I DO Shellac Finishes French Polishing Sprayed Finishes Hand Rubbed Finishes FIRE & WATER DAMAGE RESTORATION MOVING DAMAGE RESTORATION LEATHER & CLOTH SURFACES REPLACED COLOR MATCHING If you have a certain color that you have in mind for a piece, I can match to that color. FURNITURE CONVERTED TO OTHER PIECES ON SITE FURNITURE REPAIR & TOUCH-UP
Why Have Me Do Your Project? There are other restorers out there, so why choose me? I have many years of hands-on experience working with a great variety of projects and I have many techniques for repair and finishing. I have done work for people from all over New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine, and done jobs big and small. I am an honest, careful, trustworthy, hard working furniture restorer that takes a lot of pride and enjoyment in my work. I look forward to meeting you and seeing the piece or pieces you want restored. I want the opportunity to do my best for you and to see your excitement when your piece is finished. I have many repeat customers and they come back because they know the job will be done right the first time. I also have many references. The majority of my business is word of mouth. There are very kind people out there who refer me continuously and speak very highly of my work. I want to say thank you to those people. I would not be in business without them. With gratitude, Gordon Mitchell

Why Choose Us?

Sentimental Value

Much of the work that I do, includes pieces that are sentimental to the client. It is an heirloom or it is going to be one someday. These pieces have a story and when you perserve the piece, you also preserve the story. I just finished a set of Birdcage Windsor Chairs for a man that told me, he remembers going with his father looking for these chairs when he was a kid. Now he has a family and will pass them down to his kids. I have heard many stories of how these pieces of furniture that I am being asked to restore have been passed down or are now going to be passed down to the next generation. Often the piece belonged to a loved one that has passed on, or was a piece that is associated with that person and invokes a happy memory. Sometimes it is a piece from a parent or friend, who does not live near by anymore, and the piece was left to them. These objects become so much more than a chair, or a desk; they tell a story and hold memories of people, places, and times in our lives that we treasure. When I do a project, I give you a set of photos of before and during the restoration. I do this so you will have photos of what was done to your piece and you can keep them with the piece. You are not just passing on a piece of furniture; it is a piece of history...your history.

When to Have Your Furniture Re-glued

How to test if your dining room chairs, kitchen chairs, or rocker needs to be re-glued. If you hold on to the seat of the chair and move the chair back and forth and you can see the joints move; it is time to have the chair re-glued. To test the back of the chair, place one hand on the seat and the other hand on the top of the back and if it moves back and forth than it needs to be re-glued. I have seen chairs, after being loose for so long, the joints break and even worse, the legs will break in half. The longer you wait, the more expensive the repair could be. This same test holds true with case pieces: chest of drawers, china cabinets, breakfronts, desks, grandfather clocks. When you start to see the moldings getting loose or joints opening up, it is time to have the piece checked out. Over time, glues let go. I have seen even modern chairs, that were made only 20 years ago, have the glue let go and I have re-glued them. Tables are tested the same way; if you hold on to the table top, move it back and forth, and the joints move, they are loose and need to be re-glued. It is better to re-glue them now than to wait until it gets worse, and the joints are breaking. Veneers, inlays, marquetry, and moldings also come loose. If you are dusting your piece and the rag catches on a loose or lifting piece, it can fall off. Have it worked on before this happens. Waiting leads to missing pieces that now have to be fabricated. It is more expensive to do this extra work. Think of it as you do your car or your house; you have to keep up with its maintenance to keep it in good shape so it will last. It is just as important to keep up with the maintenance of your furniture, especially those pieces that have been passed down and will continue to be passed down. Don't wait, address the problem now.

Gallery



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Expert Restoration Services
Preserve Historical Value
Guidance on Maintenance
Educating Future Generations

Contact Us

Southern, NH
603-702-0089
mitchell25@comcast.net